According to a report on the Courthouse News Service website, Virginia resident Thomas Robins claimed his job search was hampered by his description as a high earner with a graduate degree on Spokeo, “a search engine that aggregates information about individuals.” Robins proposed a class action in 2010 against Spokeo but the judge found Robins “had failed to show that he had suffered any actual harm.”

A statement on the Spokeo website under the heading ‘Prohibited use for businesses’ says the company “is not a credit reporting agency or eligibility tool” and “may not be used to determine employment, housing, or credit eligibility or for any other purpose specified in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).” The statement is available on the bottom of the web page at http://www.spokeo.com/business-uses.